Commercial vehicle fleet maintenance is performed in a variety of locations and shops that do not share common characteristics. There are many variables between these locations including ceiling height, overhead door location and the number, size, and configurations of the service bays. These shops are typically crowded and congested leaving limited working room around the vehicle(s) for “fixed type” lifting and support devices.
Portable vehicle lifts exist, which provide flexibility in positioning the vehicle. These lifts are deficient, however, inasmuch as they do not lift in a controlled and balanced manner, and they require a service technician to be near or partially under the vehicle when lifting the vehicle. Vehicles must be lifted in a balanced manner to ensure that one end of the vehicle is not lifted while the other end is stationary. Unbalanced lifting causes weight shifts, slipping, and unpredictable movement, which can cause injury or death to the service technician. Requiring the service technician to be near or partially under the vehicle when lifting the vehicle is undesirable because the lift is unsecured, meaning it can slip or fail, possibly causing the vehicle to fall on the service technician.
Existing portable vehicle lifts also provide little if any adaptability to commercial vehicle designs and geometries. Commercial vehicles often have a body that extends far below the vehicle frame, making positioning the portable vehicle lift under the vehicle without driving the vehicle onto a ramp and engaging the vehicle frame difficult. Often service technicians engage the frame after sliding the lifts under the body by placing spacer blocks on the lift. This is troublesome because the spacer blocks are not properly sized and because it adds instability to the lifts.
There is accordingly an unresolved need in the art for improved vehicle lifts.